'I pray their daughters are never treated this way': Woman responds after learning she was the subject of a suggestive joke on Brett Kavanaugh's yearbook page

A woman who reportedly knew Judge Brett Kavanaugh in high school and publicly defended his character in a letter signed by 64 other women, learned her name was the subject of a vulgar inside joke between him and his friends.

Renate Schroeder Dolphin’s first name appears 14 times across Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook including on his own senior profile. The phrase, Renate Alumni” also appears under a photo of Kavanaugh and his football teammates.

Dolphin has not accused Kavanaugh of any misconduct, but she is a new voice among the two women who have leveled allegations against him in the past week: Christine Blasey Ford and Debbie Ramirez.

Kavanaugh and Ford are expected to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Renate Schroeder Dolphin, a woman who attended a high school near Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s, is one of more than 60 women who signed a letter publicly defending Kavanaugh’s character after Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during their grade-school years.

A New York Times report published on Monday revealed that Dolphin was the subject of a suggestive joke found in the Georgetown Prep yearbook.

Dolphin has not accused Kavanaugh of any misconduct, but she is a new voice among the two women who have leveled allegations against him in the past week: Christine Blasey Ford and Debbie Ramirez.

Kavanaugh and his friends used Dolphin’s first name, Renate, as code to describe what two of Kavanaugh’s classmates said was an inside joke that referenced their claims of sexual encounters with Dolphin.

Kavanaugh commented on his high school years in a Fox News interview on Monday night: “People might have had too many beers on occasion and people generally in high school – I think all of us have probably done things we look back on in high school and regret or cringe a bit,” he said.

The word “Renate” can be found 14 times across Georgetown Prep’s 1983 yearbook in these profiles and in a caption under a group photo of Kavanaugh and his football teammates, who called themselves “Renate Alumni.”

The letter Dolphin and 64 other women signed and sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee said Kavanaugh “has behaved honorably and treated with women with respect.”

Dolphin told the Times she was unaware that she was the subject of the inside jokes between Kavanaugh and his friends in the senior yearbook, and said she had only found out “a few days ago.”

Four of the men who were in the picture with Kavanaugh captioned “Renate Alumni” played down the meaning, saying it was a reference to dates or attending school dances with Dolphin.

“I don’t know what ‘Renate Alumnus’ actually means,” Dolphin told the Times, adding: “I can’t begin to comprehend what goes through the minds of 17-year-old boys who write such things, but the insinuation is horrible, hurtful and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never treated this way. I will have no further comment.”

Kavanaugh and Ford are set to testify about Ford’s assault allegations in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.